In all honesty, this was just not my type of Christmas book. I found the immediate fascination between the two characters a little unbelievable and I just couldn’t take it seriously. The writing was not bad but it just wasn’t right for me.

I loved this book a lot! The story is about a woman called Cara and a man called Javier, who both join together through their work, to create, record and perform music together. From this, their friendship and bond grow stronger and they spend a lot of time together. Cara has mental health issues due to a physical disability and loss of some of her family and Javier has also lost a family member, so there are a lot of emotional moments in the book and all of this adds depth to the story. The Christmas theme in the book isn't the same as normal Christmas stories that come out at this time of the year, as it was more like a summer adventure story with the Christmas theme coming in more near the end of the book. I really enjoyed the story, the characters and the different destinations in which the book took place. I also enjoyed listening to the audio book narrator, who portrayed the different accents successfully. The netgalley app worked great for me too.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you're after some light-hearted festive themed reading then this would be a good listen. Starting in the summer we follow Cara and Javi from recording their Christmas single all the way through its release and promotional tour as both artists and their families nervously watch it climb the charts. I enjoyed the characters though the plot was a little predictable.

Being in lockdown 2.0 has me really in the Christmas mood.

This book is not a normal Christmas read, its christmassy, but not down your throat Christmas day vibes. The story follows the build up to Christmas day which made it a great time to listen to.

I don't know if its because its an early release of the book but sometimes the accents were a bit all over the place and I had to check which character was meant to be playing. That aside the narrator is really good and the accents used are great for the majority of the time.

Javier and Cara growing to know each other is a beautiful love story. I finished this in two days as I was really hoping they would finally get together.

Generally a great love story for any time of year.

This audiobook is the perfect mix of music, romance and Christmas cheer. Cara, an up and coming pop star is asked by her record company to collaborate with an older Latin singer, Javi, to make a Christmas single. Javi is a bit of a playboy and flirts outrageously, but Cara decides their relationship should remain professional. Together they work on the song, Nostalgia. The author describes the song so well that I could almost hear it in my head and feel that Latin beat. When we find out the significance of some of the lyrics I shed a few tears.

The descriptions of the places that they visit to promote the single are breathtaking and I would love to visit them myself someday. The characters are all wonderful, even Cara's grumpy dad, Gordon, and I loved Javi's family, especially his precocious daughter, Bea.

The narrator, Gloria Sanders, was wonderful. I loved her voice for Bea!

This was so different to a ‘normal’ Christmas read. It made a really refreshing change but still kept the Christmassy vibe we all love from this genre of book.

The accents in the audiobook of Javier and Bea see-sawed between irking me and actually being quite endearing!

The book gave a small insight into festive traditions in another culture which was enlightening (I’m assuming they’re factually accurate).

Caras personal battle with anxiety issues was delicately handled and helps to bring one of the most common mental health problems to the fore in a way that made it ‘normal’.

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable listen that didn’t disappoint.


I was provided with the audio book by #netgalley and the publisher to provide an honest review.

#MyChristmasNumberOne

I listen to a fair few audio books and some work and others don’t seem to.

This wasn’t the Christmas cheesy love fest I was expecting, but it was a good story exploring Cara a British singer, who is starting out on her Career and Javi a well known Singer from Columbia.
Cara is asked to collaborate on a Christmas song he has written and recorded, what cara sends back is not what he was expecting. The story follows the path of the song through its promotional tour in South America.

The story is an interesting one. It explores family, loss, disability anxiety and love.

The audio recording was a good one, but I didn’t quite get on with the odd sound affect on Javi’s daughters Beas voice, it was a little odd. Other than that it was an easy listen and a good story,

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and Boldwood publishing for the offer of listening to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Javi and Cara are forced together to record a Christmas single together. One is a Christmas hater who is stubborn and set in her ways. The other despite failing at the important stuff is a fun lover. Everything on paper tells you that this is a recipe for disaster but could it work?

I loved this my first ever audio book!I was at first dubious about the narrator doing the male voices however they were done perfectly considering the accent changes and characters involved.
I loved the storyline and was unable to stop listening and took every opportunity to play the recording -in the car,at work and even in the bath!I didn’t want it to end-the characters were so lifelike and I felt their raw emotions-now when is the next book out ????

My First proper Christmas Read of the season. This was not quite the book I was expecting, but it was not a disappointment. The Colombian setting for a good portion of the plot made for a welcome change and gave some scope to avoid the worst of the Christmas Romance tropes (not that I mind them, in fact I generally demand them !) and allowed for this story about redemption and the recovery from Grief to be played out to it’s full extent.

I liked both of the main characters and enjoyed the slow burn of their romance but I grew slightly tired of the Father who seemed to be shoe horned in to create tensions that did not always ring true.

Was it frothy enough, just! Three mince pies, almost too sweet but a good slug of strong tea and you’ll be grand!

This audio book version (courtesy of NetGalley and Boldwood) was read competently and with well defined characterisation. The Spanish pronunciation did not jar, but occasionally the clipped tones would err into a light Londoner accent that did momentarily bring me out of the story

Romantic and bittersweet with a side of Colombian cultural experience, I was completely engrossed in this story.

At the start both characters are made to work together in a Christmas single. They both harbour preconceptions about the other initially and try to ignore the spark they both feel.

I absolutely loved how we gradually learn about the true meaning of the song as they both learn more about each other, but also learn about themselves and then mature and develop because of that.

It kills me that this is a fictional song, it feels so real, I'd love to hear it. I also kept thinking about About a Boy where Hugh Grant's character is able to live comfortably off the proceeds of his one successful Christmas song and wondering if they could look forward to that too.

The chemistry was stoked up nicely but the smut was a bit of an anticlimax; I probably read too much smut, I don't know but the build up was hotter than the payoff for me.

A lovely romantic festive read with all of the feels. Recommended.

*Thanks to the publishers via netgalley for my arc.**

I was really looking forward to getting into the Christmas spirit with this book but it was far from the cheesy Christmas story I'm used to reading at this time of year.

The Audio for this novel is great and throughly engaging. There was no Annoying traits or stutters and everything was read clearly and at a good pace. I throughly enjoyed listening to her voice as she portrayed all the characters.

However, I wasn’t majorly invested in the characters or the storyline of this book. I Love a sweeping romance full of passion and niggling arguments but this book didn’t really give it to me.

It explores mature themes such as living life with a disability and fighting through both trauma and anxiety whilst being highly successful in a high profile career. It was cleverly written just not my cup of tea.

This audiobook book is the perfect antidote to 2020 and everything that has gone wrong this year.
The narration is great, and engaging. The narrator reads the story well, and has no annoying verbal sounds that can drive you mad when listening to them for several hours. She was great.

The story is unashamedly sentimental and romantic, and that is exactly what you get. Boy meets girl, they shouldn't be together- their pasts are keeping them apart, they fall in love, they split up and then there is a happy ending . (I don't think that's a spoiler- no one would listen to/read this novel if that wasn't what they were going to get.).

Along with all of that there are some wonderful moments on sundrenched beaches, jungles, ice skating in the snow. The characters are well written and the story is beautifully constructed showing the developing love story.

This book will never be on an educational syllabus, but it is a wonderful holiday read, and it made me smile, and was great page turning fun.

I found this a very original non-traditional Christmas book. There is a lot of depth to it too, given the pasts of the two main characters. It was quite different to what I expected, but in a good way. The narrator was great and I really enjoyed it!

Narrator
The narrator did a fantastic job with this book and the different characters. She was 5 stars. I would happily buy books she is narrating again

Story
This was an enjoyable Christmas book. It took me a while to get into the characters, but I eventually got there. It was a nice mix of hurt and healing

What a joy the audio book version of My Christmas Number One is! Not only is this a fabulous debut by Leonie Mack to immerse yourself in but Gloria Sanders narrates this and brings it perfectly to life!! What a team!
This is a Christmas story but it is also quite a different one which I relished!
The book starts when a record company brings together two people together from different parts of the globe - Javi from Columbia and Cara from England. They create a Christmas song with a Latin twist. This is not just a simple romance as both characters have been dealt some terrible blows in life and the author has handled these with great care.
This book sweeps from Miami to Mexico and through to Columbia. I thoroughly enjoyed this audio book and I was completely invested in it and I cannot wait to see what this author will write next!!